There is an air
of excitement as bags are packed and esky's filled with food. It’s the 1960’s and the family pack the Ford
XY with enough belongings to see them through their annual summer break to
Phillip Island. A frequent drive down
the southern coast to Cowes was not unusual for the in laws. Zio Pino and his wife owned a beach bungalow
he built for the extended family to gather and spend not only the Christmas and
Easter breaks, but also any other long weekends they could get away.
There are many
photos shared and happy memories recounted by my husband of times spent on this
Island. The food cooked, the trips to
nearby farms to buy fresh milk so that they could make their own ricotta; popping
down to San Remo to buy freshly caught fish off the boats and the many swimmer
crabs caught off the pier.
I suppose it was
only natural that today we find ourselves here at our own bungalow in Cowes; our
peaceful home away from home nestled among Australian native plants. We fell in love with her light filled open space, high ceilings and of course spectacular and peaceful garden. Here we too will create special memories with
family and friends; and hope to share this place with you as well.
It was a mutual
decision that she have an Italian name in honour of our heritage so we named her Casa
dell’Isola, which translates as house of the island. Here I share only a few photos along with a simple recipe
for insalata di mare. A dish using Australian seafood freshly caught and
made for our inaugural lunch gathering with family.
Casa
dell’Isola is not quite ready yet, but soon we will open her doors to
welcome guests, so they too can stay, relax and recharge before setting off to
explore this beautiful part of Australia.
Phillip Island is an all year-round holiday destination which offers
much beauty in flora, fauna and coastal beaches. If you would like to follow her progress, she
has her own IG account @casa_dell_isola_phillipisland
Insalata di
Mare
(Serves 4)
This recipe is
an adaptation from the March 2013 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe
for
Insalata di Mare.
Due to lack of time, I left out the mussels as they take some time to clean but tripled the quantity of the other ingredients to feed our extended family. I used the preserved lemons I made last winter from my Meyer tree, and we enjoyed this seafood with other cold dishes and a lovely bottle
of Blanc de Balance from one of the island's wineries -
Purple Hen Vineyard & Wines on a lazy afternoon.
The fresh
fish was purchased from
Bass Strait Direct seafood market in the fishing village of Newhaven just as you enter
Phillip Island.
Ingredients:
200 ml dry white
wine
1 kg mussels,
scrubbed and beards removed
12 medium
uncooked prawns, peeled and cleaned
2 calamari,
cleaned, tubes cut into rings and tentacles reserved
12 scallops, roe
off
4 inner celery
stalks, thinly sliced, plus leaves reserved, to serve
½ white onion,
thinly sliced (optional – I omitted this ingredient)
Preserved lemon
dressing:
75 gm (¼ cup)
mayonnaise or olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ preserved
lemon, rinsed, flesh discarded, rind finely diced
To serve:
coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley and lemon wedges
Bring wine to
the boil in a large saucepan, add mussels, cover and cook until opened (3-5 minutes).
Remove with tongs and set aside, then, when cool enough to handle, remove
mussels from shells and transfer to a bowl (discard cooking liquid).
Heat a
char-grill pan over high heat, add prawns and turn occasionally until cooked
(3-5 minutes). Place in bowl with mussels. Add calamari to pan in batches and
turn occasionally until just cooked (2-3 minutes), then transfer to bowl with
mussels and prawns, season to taste and set aside. Add scallops to pan and
grill, turning once, until medium-rare (30-40 seconds each side), then add to
other seafood and mix to combine.
For preserved
lemon dressing, whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice and preserved lemon in a bowl to
combine and season to taste.
Drizzle
preserved lemon dressing over the seafood, add celery, onion and herbs, toss to
combine and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Enjoy!
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